


Nightmares and Daydreams

by hundebaby2015



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hundebaby2015/pseuds/hundebaby2015
Summary: Book Three, Episode 9.While Toph and Katara take Appa and Momo out to gather supplies, Aang looks to Sokka for comfort regarding his increasing nightmares. Just a short and sweet one-off between the two boys.Nightmares, and some descriptions of acts of violence in war.
Relationships: Aang/Sokka (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54





	Nightmares and Daydreams

"Just think happy thoughts!"

Aang was able to swallow the anger that rose up his chest, but he wasn't able to stop himself from rolling his eyes. 

"Thanks, Sokka, I haven't tried that yet."

He put his head in his hands and sighed. Of course Sokka just wanted to help. They all did. Aang knew that.

He was just tired. Exhausted. He didn’t remember how long it had been since he’s gotten a good night of sleep.

A relentless stream of images played against his closed eyelids. Aang shook his head to rid the thoughts. He spent all night thinking about how he’s going to fail his friends, his teachers, the world. He didn’t need it to happen during the day, too.

He heard Sokka sigh and felt the vibrations of his feet walking towards him. They were calculated. Heavy. 

"Can I sit for a minute?"

Aang shrugged, too tired to lift his head.

"When my mom was…" Sokka cleared his throat and shifted.

An uncomfortable beat of silence surrounded them. Aang looked up and saw Sokka's eyes focused out towards the ocean, and shifted.   
“I know what it’s like to have nightmares.”

Aang’s heart dropped as he heard Sokka’s voice crack. Of course Sokka knows what it’s like. Of course he knows loss, defeat, fear. They all did, but…

“For weeks I had the same nightmare, over and over again. It always started off nice: my dad and I would be down by the docks, and he’d be teaching me these new knots for fishing nets. I would be so excited just to be a part of things. So excited to be taken seriously.”

The Sokka from five minutes ago was gone. Aang tried to swallow around the lump in his throat.

“All of a sudden, everything goes to Hell. There are lines of Fire Nation ships in front of us. We’re being pushed around. People are shouting. Screaming for help. Women, mothers, are being pulled from their families. Men are being thrown on the ground and beaten until they don’t get up again. My dad is trying to hide me behind his back while also trying to comfort the others while also trying to fight off the Fire Nation soldiers who are pushing past us.”

A thought finds its way into Aang’s head that he knows he can’t simply shake. This is what really happened. These are Sokka’s real memories, not just a dream. Sokka didn’t notice the shiver that went through Aang. His eyes were far away, looking out past the horizon. Aang waited for Sokka to finish, but after a moment, he realized that he wouldn't. 

“How did you get them to stop?” 

His voice sounded like a crack of thunder in the silence that had gathered around them. Sokka finally looked over at him like he just realized he was there. 

“Every night, my grandmother would sit with me,” Sokka wiped his face. “She would rub my forehead and talk until I fell asleep. Sometimes they were stories about my mom, sometimes she just talked about her day.”

“That sounds nice.”

Sokka shrugged, and a smile tugged at the sides of his lips.

“Sometimes it was more annoying than anything, actually,” he laughed. “Most of the time I just wanted to be left alone.”

The setting sun cast a warm glow over the two boys, lightning Sokka’s dark features and washing Aang with a pleasant heat that was disrupted only by the cool breeze of the ocean.

“I will say this, though,” Sokka finally said, standing up. “She made sure that I was never alone.”

He reached out his hand towards Aang and helped pull him up. Sokka, not letting go of Aang’s hand, led them to the edge of the cliff, where they could see the sun sinking down into the ocean. 

“And we’re going to make sure you’re never alone, either. We’ve been up against a lot of scary things this year, but we’ve always done it together. This is no different.”

The tears came down in burning streaks down Aang’s face, and shame rose in his chest. 

“I’m supposed to be the strong one, Sokka,” the words tumbled out, uncontrolled. “I’m supposed to be the one everyone can turn to for comfort or hope. The Avatar.”

He was so sick of that title. Of what it meant for him, of the pressure that came with it. Sokka let go of Aang’s hand.

“I’m so scared I’m going to fail. That I’m going to let everyone down.”

He looked to Sokka, who was focused on the ground in front of him, and sighed from the impossible situation. If he tries to bury everything that he’s going through, his nightmares get worse. His training gets harder. His focus becomes inconsistent. If he tries to open up, then he just…

“You know you can’t let us down, right?”

Aang’s brow furrowed, and the thoughts that seemed so heavy floated away.

“What do you mean? Of course I can. What if I…”

“No, Aang. You can’t let us down,” Sokka looked up, but Aang couldn’t look at him for long before turning away. “We see you. We see how hard you’re trying. We see how much pressure is on your shoulders. How much pressure you put on yourself.”

The world is in danger, and I’m the only one who can stop it. Of course I put so much pressure on myself.

Aang’s jaw tightened, but he took a deep breath to relax it. 

Sokka is just trying to help.

He noticed that Sokka was watching him carefully. There was no trace of a smile on his face, no air of easiness that Aang was used to him having.   
“Of course you’re having trouble sleeping,” Sokka’s voice was soft. “You’re trying to be everything to everyone all the time. That’s exhausting.”

Aang didn’t trust himself to speak. All he could do was nod.

“No matter what happens, Aang, we’re proud of you. Win or fail, we’re going to do it together.”

Sokka held out his hand, and Aang took it gratefully.


End file.
